timeline. and i would actually really recommend folks check out the national women's law center website for a q&a on how to talk to your insurance provider about when you'll get those benefits. >> sandra fluke, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> thank you. up next, "hardball" with chris matthews. road rage. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washingtowashington let me start with mitt romney's bumpy adventure. before this week, his most infamous trip out of the country was when he roped the family dog to the roof. no more. after trashing the brits' olympics, degrading the arabs, we figured there would be worse trouble coming in poland. and, boy, we were right. here's the word from romney's spokesman on that leg of the trip. hold your ears. this is official. kiss my --

he yelled to reporters, asking for a word from the candidate. he yelled at the other one -- shove it! these are his people speaking for mitt romney. anyway, is this the message for mr. and mrs. north america and all the ships at sea? kiss my -- and shove it? talk about a bad audition. his people wanted to show how well he would behave overseas. so who is the character we have seen the last week? the one we discovered out there in the country of the world. mitt romney or don rickles? tonight, before i welcome will ferrell and zach galifianakis to the show, let's talk about the latest crazy road trip of mitt romney's. jonathan martin is with politico. i he was part of the traveling press corps accompanying mitt romney on the press corps. he joins us from poland. glen johnson is "the boston globe's" politics reporter. with me here in the studio, simon marks, chief correspondent for feature story news. jonathan martin, i know you don't like to get into this but let's talk about the fact that you're on the spot, you have "dateline" integrity and looking good.

here's the infamous dustup in war saw. early this morning, reporters covering romney tried to shout questions to the governor as he got into his motorcade. romney had only answered three questions from the press corps during the entire three-country trip. >> right. >> his spokesman made it clear he wasn't going to answer any more than those three. let's watch what happened. >> governor romney! >> governor romney, do you have a statement for the palestinians? >> what about your gaffes? >> governor romney, do you feel that your gaffes have overshadowed your foreign trip? >> this is a holy site for the polish people, show some respect. >> governor romney. >> show some respect. >> we don't have another chance to ask him questions. >> kiss my [ bleep ]. this is a holy site for the polish people. show some respect. >> that is going to go down in history in bartlett's quotation --

kiss my -- and you know the rest of it. and this is a holy site. putting those two thoughts together it is hard for most people. jonathan, what did you fellows and women think when you heard in the press corps that conjunction of words. kiss my followed by this is a holy site? >> i think it reflects the frustration on governor romney's staff because, you know, they are trying to do their job and sort of corral us. look, we have a job to do, too, in the press corps. and that is, for our readers, to get answers from the candidate for the president of the united states. the fact is that he had not given any real time to the traveling press corps and a question and answer session, traditional press conference like many candidates do. like president obama did four years ago when he was then senator obama and so we had no choice but to yell questions when we have an opportunity to the candidate when he's walking to his motorcade after he finishes a public event. it's unfortunate it got to that, but, look, this is what happens when we're trying to get answers and there's no way to answer governor t or romney questions

durational question and answer press conference. >> you know what it looks like here, when you are with -- when you are watching romney on the road, he looks like one of those robots in the hall of the presidents at disney world. they stand up, walk robotically, they only talk the thing they say over and over to the tourists going by. he doesn't look like he wants to engage in any human being. why did he go overseas if he didn't want to meet anybody? >> he went overseas in part to middle east in mind to shore up his support back home with american jewish folks. but there are real issues for him to address and be questioned about. the speech he made with the historic old city of jerusalem behind him suggesting that he supports the move of the capital to jerusalem then has questions that result from it about, does that mean you want to move the u.s. embassy to jerusalem? there are real issues that arise out of that that he's not giving members of the traveling press corps an opportunity to ask him about. >> there's no political downside, though.

there's no political downside there, though, chris, for a republican candidate for president who is trying to cut into the jewish vote to, you know, come off as pandering to jews. that's all offside for him. look, i understand the view may be different overseas. but politically for romney jerusalem was the best stop, i think, because he wants to get 35%, perhaps even higher, jewish vote in america. you can't be too pro-israel if that's what your goal is. so na that was the least of his problems i think overseas. his larger challenge was the fact that, look, he has a problem with context and with setting and doesn't understand the impact of his words sometimes. most vividly displayed when he was talking about the olympics and the uk's preparation for the olympics and hurt himself for the first two, three days of this trip. >> going over -- i want to get to glen johnson. i want to get into the politics in the middle east. going over there and pandering the way he did, anybody, a 3-year-old can do it. it is not whether he can pander.

it's whether you have the acuity, as you said, jonathan, to know what he is talking about and the nuances of these very tricky situations, which are going to be going on when we're all 100 years old. still fighting in the middle east. you don't start wars and you don't start trouble. anybody can pander. can he think? can he answer questions on the spot? that's my question. >> the issue, too, also is that he had a good story to tell going over to london. he was the guy that resurrected the 2002 olympic winter games in salt lake city and he talked about none of that in he about none of that. he ended up defending himself in the comments he made about the london preparations and not about the positive lessons that he drew out of his olympic experience himself. so there was a huge missed opportunity. as jonathan said the opportunity going into jerusalem was to lay out a foreign policy vision and yet, there he detracted completely from that speech with a conversation and comment he made in a private fund-raiser. so the big touchstone moments including today in warsaw where

he wanted to do another foreign policy speech looking to the east, he also was -- that was overshadowed with rick gorka's comments. a so when he tried to overlay substance or something substantive to talk about, it got overshadowed by his own word. rahm emanuel said this to "the l.a. times" -- at every level this trip has shown more of how mitt romney is not ready for the oval office. i don't know how he will handle the head of state job. he has made a mess of being a tourist. that's their democratic shot at him for his conduct this trip. jonathan? >> chris, i think glen has it right. the biggest surprise to me was why in the heck romney folks did not try to take more advantage of his good news story about saving the salt lake games in '02? i thought that was the chief reason besides going to israel for a day and getting a picture

with b.b. he was going on this trip, to remind americans look, i'm not just some rich corporate tycoon. i also saved the '02 olympics in america. he didn't air any ads about that. there was no effort with the press corps in london to remind us about that. it was baffling he did not seize that opportunity more and to me, that is perhaps the biggest missed opportunity of this trip. >> i think that -- in sports terms, you have a big ten schedule, 11, 12 games, right? you think you got the easy one. this was the easy one and he wasn't up for it, ironically. let's take a look at the interview carl cameron had with romney of fox news. of course, romney took on the press and their coverage of his trip. and that's to be expected. >> i realize that there will be some in the fourth estate or whichever estate who are far more interested in finding something to write about that is unrelated to the economy, to geopolitics, to the threat of war, to the reality of conflict

in afghanistan today, to a nuclearization of iran. they'll instead try and find anything else to divert from the fact that these last four years have been tough years for our country. >> maybe it said something about geopolitics and something deep, people would have reported it. >> i think he had an opportunity to change the subject and get people to ask him substantial questions. if you look at what he said in poland a few hours ago he slammed vladimir putin's stewardship of russia, he slammed the repressive brutality of belarus. no one is talking about that tonight. >> why does he do this macho man thing? he's never been in the military, never been in a schoolyard fight. this metaphorical foreign policy drives me crazy. he always wants to fight. yet he doesn't have any knowledge of fighting. he wants somebody else to fight. he wants another war front. >> he's using the backdrop of poland where battles have been waged in the past against repressive regimes to try to raise the issue they are there

are still repressive regimes that work in parts of europe. he has no opportunity to get that message across because of now the fundamentally corrosive nature of his relationship with his own press corps. >> i think the easiest position for him to take on every front is to be more aggressive, more tough on foreign policy, at least in words, than the president. glen, it doesn't show intelligence, it doesn't show guts. he hasn't once said obama's right on this one. he never once says i would be more moderate on this one. always to the right. same old tea party crap. go to the right, go to the right, go to the right. it's safe over there. your thoughts, glen? >> it reminds me of where we were four years ago. i actually flew on a trip with then-senator obama from chicago to andrews air force base where he then got on his plane to fly over to afghanistan for his first trip there. and at the time there was a real question about his preparation to handle foreign policy. and i think, you know, the white house is emphasizing his anti-terrorism moves since then, getting bin laden and all that. you see now with mitt romney, that same unfamiliarity with

foreign affairs and when you're fed a script like he is, goes to jerusalem and says things he hasn't internalized yet, goes to poland and says things he hasn't internalized yet, you know, you see some level of timidness there or uncertainty and it comes off in just the body english you talked about earlier in the show. you know, he's brought out there, he says these things and then he walks to the car. and when questions are thrown at him, he doesn't want to deviate from that because he's leaving his comfort zone there of the script that had been put in front of him. so i think this whole trip underlines for him that domestic policy and jobs you heard him talk about are where he wants to fight this campaign. foreign affairs is still a new territory for him. >> a lot of republicans are saying he shouldn't have gone on the trip, better staying home. jonathan martin, thank you for coming back. coming to us from poland. glen johnson, thank you. simon marks. coming up, gay marriage. democrats look like they are ready to endorse same-sex marriage nationally in the party platform. the republicans can't wait for this. one of them said or actually

asked, it's politically correct but is it politically smart? a couple of republicans have come forward to say their party has leaned so far to the right these days it is out of control. speaking of out of control, rush limbaugh concluded in his depth of knowledge that the olympics opening ceremony was a socialist tribute to president obama. only in the land of ditto-heads. and the sideshow -- special treat tonight, will ferrell join us to talk politics and about their new movie "the campaign." it's time to start gellin' with dr. scholl's and feel the energy from your feet up. thanks to the energizing support and cushioning of dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles, you'll want to get up and go. car insurance companies say they'll save you by switching, you'd have like, a ton of dollars. but how are they saving you those dollars? a lot of companies might answer "um" or, "no comment."

then there's esurance. born online, raised by technology, and majors in efficiency. so whatever they save, you save. hassle, time, paperwork, hair-tearing-out, and yes, especially dollars. esurance. insurance for the modern world. click or call. new poll numbers from two key states. starring in pennsylvania, where president obama's lead is down to three points, new susquehanna poll, 46-43.

the obama campaign must be looking at other polling because they are feeling good enough to have pulled their tv ads in the keystone state. florida, new ppp poll puts the race at one point obama up by one, 48-47. third poll now from missouri. the state has been trending republican in recent elections. new mason/dixon poll shows mitt romney leading president obama 51-42.

welcome back to "hardball." will the 2012 democratic platform en.org same-sex marriage? the drafting committee took the first step this weekend recommending that it be included. next comes the tricky part, the wording. will it call for a federal law covering all americans or endorse a state by state approach? trickier still is how this will play with voters. some democrats worry they may just have created a wedge issue here, dividing their own supporters uniting republicans against them. u.s. congressman barney frank is on the platform drafting committee doing the work on this. "time" magazine's mark halperin, senior msnbc political analyst. gentlemen, i want you to watch aif conversation i had a while back in the summer, by the way,

with antonio villaraigosa, the mayor of los angeles, also, of course, the chair of the democratic national convention this summer in charlotte, north carolina. let's watch what he had to say. when the democrats write their platform this summer on same sex, will you endorse a state by state approach to this or a federal law that guarantees the right of people to marry someone of the same sex? will it be federal or state by state the party will support? >> i think that i made it fairly clear. i think that marriage equality is a fundamental liberty that the federal government and our constitution ought to protect. i've made that very clear. you're not nailing me to anything, my friend. i believe in that. i think it's about family values. i think we ought to keep families together on the immigration side. but, also, when someone wants to marry, they want to have a loving relationship, the federal government should not be interfering with that right. >> should the federal government

support the right to a same-sex marriage in the law? >> yes. >> okay. congressman frank, is that how far your drafting is taking us to a -- >> chris, i literally don't understand what that means. there is a fundamental confusion here. there has never been a federal law saying what marriage is. marriage has been left to the states. now, first i would say as far as this being a wedge issue, the democrats already in the u.s. house of representatives and through the president have made clear we are opposed to bans on same-sex marriage. the house voted. i'm puzzled. people get it backwards. a platform is supposed to tell the elected officials how they should vote. we have already voted. in the house ten days ago, on an amendment to reaffirm the defense of marriage act, the republicans voted 230-5 to reaffirm this cancellation of our marriages and the democrats voted 161-17 against it.

so the two parties are already split there. but the point is, there is no federal law to be passed. look at the situation with race. when there were states that would not allow interracial marriage, even after the civil rights acts has passed in '64 and '65, there was no federal law saying that interracial marriage had to be allowed. it was done by the supreme court. the constitutional framework has always been states decide who gets married. our objection is that for the first time the federal government is picking and choosing who can get married. there's never been a federal law defining marriage. i don't know how you would do one. it goes beyond the role of the federal government. the role of the federal government is, as i said, to recognize what the states have done. it is true that the supreme court stepped in and in the loving case to say you can't use race, but that was a court decision. it wasn't a congressional enactment and wasn't -- >> congressman, we had the civil

rights act in '64 and said you couldn't deny somebody access to public accommodation. that's a federal law. >> you're wrong! you're wrong, chris. >> i'm wrong about what? >> in 1964, there were state laws against interracial marriage and -- >> i'm not talking about interracial -- i'm talking about public accommodations. you said there's no precedent for the federal government declaring something, a right. >> no, chris, please, don't distort what i said. i said there is no precedent for a federal law defining marriage. federal governments declare laws all the time. but you made my point. in '64 in that far-reaching civil rights act and later in the voting rights act, the federal government didn't try to strike down the state ban and interracial marriages. that had to be done through the courts. not something that could be reached by statute. >> so what did mayor villaraigosa mean when he said federal law? >> what do you think i would answer you to that? that you should ask the mayor. what happened is people who haven't followed the law, they say, yeah, we'd like it to be

national. but there has never -- that's never happened. what haes happening is people are trying to -- i don't know. maybe unintentionally cloud the issue. it has always been up to the states. the only federal rule on the subject was the defense of marriage act, which the democrats are trying to overthrow. i would hope if president obama is reelected he would appoint justices who would then follow the constitution but that's the level at which it would be dealt with as it was in race. >> let's talk about politics, mark halperin. if democrats ask for a far-reaching platform plank, the policy of the united states should be marriage equality. would that be a big problem for them politically? north carolina, ohio, places like that. >> it would be a huge problem. but congressman frank is right. >> state by state. >> no way it can end up that way. only way i can think of you could craft a federal statute that would have the effect you are talking about is that if you linked it to something. if you said states can't get certain kinds of aid. but given the supreme court decision and general precedence

i don't think there's a chance that will lhappen. state by state and overturned is i suspect where they are headed. politics of that are already divide. >> let's talk about it. if it comes down to state by state, up to the states and democratic party recognizes that situation. >> urges states to make it. >> how is that going to affect ohio? >> i think ohio, iowa, virginia, and north carolina are all states where democrats can look at it and say, if the targeted messages go out right, this could, on balance, hurt them. those are four really important states. >> your thoughts, mr. frank on how this will affect the election. >> chris, i'm puzzle willed by this. the president has already said that is his position. he said doma is unconstitutional and believes people should have the right to get married to people of the same sex and has taken concrete action to oppose it. all the ohio democrats voted against the defense of marriage act. on the issue, democrat approval is there.

people are giving the platform more prominence than it ever earn. >> i predict that the beginning of the democratic convention in charlotte when nothing else is happening monday and tuesday when the word is out about the platform, we will be talking a lot about that on the front pages of newspapers across the country. this is a big issue politically. >> except that -- i understand it's an issue, but i'm baffled by the media. why wasn't it a big issue when the president of the united states repudiated doma and said it was unconstitutional and refused to defend it? why wasn't it a big issue when the house of representatives voted on it? it's a position that nothing's new about it. >> you know where i stand. but for the first time in history, congressman frank, a major political party in this country, you only have two of them, comes out for marriage equality. that's big news. it will be huge. >> you're wrong here in this sense. it is not the first time. the president of the united states and 90% of the house democrats have already done it. this worship of a party platform, i can't even remember what was in any party platform. >> well, you're on it now. you are writing it.

>> the democratic position has already been very clear from the president and from the votes in the house. >> i think he's right. we're already divided. >> thank you, congressman frank, as always. >> i think it will be an issue at the convention. up next, jon stewart on mitt romney's international insult tour. later in the hour, will ferrell and zach galifianakis, stars of the new political comedy "the campaign," are here. [ male announcer ] we did a febreze experiment

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mitt romney campaign still trying to do damage control after remarks that romney made while in the uk. probably romney's worst gaffe was when he visited buckingham palace and said to queen elizabeth, you call this a house?

. >> back to "hardball" and the "sideshow." it all started with the comment romney made about london's preparations for the olympics. "disconcerting" was word he used. here's jon stewart on the question of how could he botch that one? >> before the games officially opened, our own mitt romney headed to london. romney's mr. olympics, having saved the salt lake city games in 1992. england is our closest ally. what could possibly go wrong? >> in the short time you have been here in london, do they look ready to your experienced eye? >> you know, it is hard to know just how well it will turn out. there are a few things that were disconcerting. >> what are you doing? this is no time to display your sophisticated knowledge of olympic preparations. you are a guest at a dinner party. nod your head. say it is delicious.

that's all you have to do. loop another one up for me. >> the short time you have been here in london, do they look ready to your experienced eye? >> yes. oh! that's it. done. >> here's something you probably haven't considered about the olympics opening ceremony. which performance was more socialist, the one we saw on friday or the ceremony in beijing four years ago? well, you got it, el rushbo taking note of this year's ceremony, the uk's national health service. >> the people of great britain don't even like the national health service. and then it hit me. and then it hit me. it was actually done on behalf of president cardashan. they did it for obama. nobody will convince me otherwise. i remember the opening ceremony. you know what stands out, you had tens of thousands of people all doing the same thing. like watching zombies.

so now then we move to the uk and we've got that opening ceremony where we had -- i think it's even worse. theoretically the u.k. is made up of free people. and what did they choose to highlight about themselves but a bunch of collectivism. >> you heard it there. we have the brits to thank for what can only be called a meticulously planned homage to president obama and socialized medicine, also known as the olympics opening ceremony. finally, how do we know campaign ads are officially dominating the president's race? at a no-cameras-allowed fund-raiser last night the president told the story of a couple who attended one of his events with their 4-year-old son sammy. there was a picture of me somewhere, they said, and sammy,

said, who is that? he said, and that's barack obama i approve this message. and what does barack obama do? tag line to every ad the campaign puts out.

hello, everyone. i'm lynn berry. here's what's happening. in texas, ted cruz won the closely watched gop runoff election making him the odds-on favorite to replace kay bailey hutchison. a judge has ruled that testimony from an alleged hit man will not be allowed in the

drew peterson trial. gas prices rose -- actually, gore vidal has died at the age of 86 due to complications of pneumonia. now back to "hardball." the expectation is, if you want to go up in the ranks of either party, you've got to give them your wallet and your voting card. and the overwhelming criticism of me over the years is that sometimes i vote funny, according to my party, and i'm not interested in giving them my wallet or my voter card. >> welcome back to "hardball." that's ohio congressman steve latourette announcing his retirement from congress and his frustration with the republican party after serving nearly 20 years. he's not the only one.

republican congressman richard hanna of new york told a syracuse newspaper, quote, i have to say that i'm frustrated by how much we, i mean the republican party, are willing to give deferential treatment to our extremes in this moment in history. fissures in the party appear to be growing. michael sper convi itch is a rao host and michael steele is former chair of the republican national committee. they're both msnbc political analysts. now it's important to note latourette took a shot at both parties but clearly retiring from one. his problem was at home is that often as in politics tougher than your brothers and sisters than you are on the other side. for years now i noticed you tried to carve something of a moderate position near the center coming from the republican side that the suburban voters tend to adhere to. they are not wingers. they are not tea partiers. they tend to want less government but they're not crazy. they don't want to get rid of

government, and they want fair taxes. are we going to see less and less voice for people like that in the years ahead? >> i sure hope so because the largest growing group of voters in this country are not rs or ds. they are is, independents. the sort of behavior you're talking about is what has driven many of us straight out of the republican party. the republican party has got to stop taking marching orders from talk radio hosts and, frankly, start taking more marching orders from guys like michael steele. that's the future of the party. the demographics are not on the side of the gop. so if they don't get with the new program soon, they are going to be out of existence. >> michael, you were the -- i think boss is probably too strong a term. you're such a mild-mannered guy. >> oh, yeah, in this town. >> if you are the head of the republican party, what sit about your party? you take a shot at the other side, obviously. about the parties that get pulled so far to the right. someone like bachmann is taken seriously by people. not by everyone. not by mccain or lindsey graham or people like that.

but taken seriously by people like newt gingrich, limbaugh and those people. they get the big noise out there. >> well, there is this idea that you get a lot of noise from people who are out there pushing a particular agenda or a particular idea. what i argued as chairman of the rnc is, that's great, that's part of who we are and how we have grown as a party, how we've managed to be successful. following the reagan legacy of embracing the diversity of the country and -- >> you're talking about embracing crazy talk. >> no. >> when you go out and target couple ma aum adeny who works for hillary clinton and say, let's make her a muslim brotherhood suspect, is that what you want? >> this is the point you're making and i agree with it. those extreme conversations where you sound ridiculous, look ridiculous and are ridiculous, delegitimize the efforts of, you know, everyday republicans who are trying to stick to some core

principles about government and taxes and freedom and want that expressed in their leadership. instead, what's happened is there is a hijacking and a hostage taking mindset in some cases, if you don't, therefore i will. instead of just saying, how does this fit into the overall narrative of what we are and what we believe? how do we look at an 18-year-old african-american male and say this is a place where you belong politically. there's an opportunity for you here. we don't do that. michael smerconish is absolutely right. we go the way of the wigs. >> michael, you know this. you look over the whole northeast, all of new england, there used to be a republican senator or two in every one of those states growing up. they're all gone. >> yeah. >> the northeast has been evacuated by the republican party. it's gone down to the southwest to the sunbelt, where people are willing to listen to some of this really wild right-wing talk. >> well, you're right.

you know the national journal, i think, has done an extraordinary job of actually documenting the dearth of candidates and office holders in the center. both from the left and right. if you go to ronald reagan's watch in the early '80s, the national journal documents that 60% of the senate was somewhere in the middle. today, every of republican more conservative than every democrat. every democrat more liberal than every republican in the senate. there's a total absence of moderates. it's just not a good thing for the country. of and the country i think has gone in a different direction. so they're totally out of sync with the rest of the nation, or at least i would argue. >> i love that statistic. can you get it to me? 60% of the united states senate in the 1980s was somewhere in the middle. i love that statistic. it is so untrue today. michael, is there any chance republican party can go back to the center right instead of hard right? >> oh, i believe so. i look at the next team, the farm, the bench that's coming up, yeah. you look at the paul ryans, you look at these guys, the bob

mcdonnells, the chris christies, particularly those like chris christie governing in blue states, northeastern states, bring a very different message and very different style of republicanism to the table, which is long overdue. i think it's an important focus for the next few years. >> thank you so much, michael steele. thank you also michael smerconish. two voices of reason. up next, will ferrell and zach galifianakis, stars of the very funny new political movie "the campaign" are here. [ buzz ] off to work!

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well, michele bachmann may be looking to put her muslim brotherhood controversy in the rear view mirror. guess who she is looking to team up with on medicaid reform? u.s. congressman keith ellison. one of the muslim-americans she suggested may have ties to the muslim brotherhood. earlier this month, bachmann said the investigators should look into ellison and top state department aide huma amaden to find out whether the brotherhood has infiltrated the u.s. government. xó

we're back. two of the funniest men in hollywood, will ferrell -- there he is -- and zach galifianakis have teamed up for their latest film "the campaign." it's a biting satire of our modern age of politics. take a look. >> hey, hey. that's my baby to kiss. >> excuse me. >> excuse me. >> whoa! >> oh, you don't take a swing at my hair! ♪ my country 'tis of thee ♪ sweet land of liberty >> i love the pacifier going to the ground there.

not exactly "mr. smith goes to washington," is it? will ferrell and zach galifianakis here to play some real hardball. this movie, this movie, is really funny. it's up there with your best stuff, guys. i love "anchorman." >> oh, thank you. >> ron burgundy. >> oh, yeah. >> you did us credit. >> classic. pretty accurate, right? >> nailed me. >> "hangover," best movie ever. deepest movie ever. >> thank you. >> most important movie ever. >> well, i only do political movies. >> you know, i watched this movie last night. i'm a movie nut and a political nut. everybody watching ought to pay attention to this thought. you are funny. it ain't funny when you are telling. two hours, two and a half hours of funny slapstick and wit and satire. but you are talking about two awful people.

like the koch brothers. these two guys, john lithgow and dan akroyd go around like rich guys. "trading places." pick winners and losers in campaigns with their billions. >> yeah. >> how do you feel about that? >> you know, i mean, we -- we really -- just wanted the movie to be nonpartisan in politics. >> it is -- >> yeah, well, we wanted -- you know, we wanted to put a mirror up to the fact that there is all this money flowing into -- >> what do you think? as an american. >> i love it. i love it. i think it is great. >> okay. >> i don't think it is hindering the, you know, from people from governing at all. >> zach, your uncle was the congressman from north carolina in chapel hill when i was in grad school. is he still there? this stuff is real. north carolina race you are talking about for congress. >> he ran against jessie helms. >> he beat him, right? >> no. >> finished that guy, didn't he? >> no, no. no, he didn't. but, yeah, just kind of a throwback to the dirty politics that have been -- north carolina has seen it. the south sees it a lot. what's interesting about the movie is it is set in the polite south but there are all these

terrible mudslingings going on. >> you play a guy who i swear is john edwards. >> little bit john edwards, little bit donna shalala. >> a look at the scene from the movie -- donna shalala? >> you didn't pause. >> i know her. she's great. here is the movie in which the adviser is giving the candidate character advice. here is zach with tough political reality lessons being given to him. let's watch. >> right now your electability is 26%. the words that come up about you is odd, clammy, probably serbian. >> that's old. >> he looks like the travelocity gnome. >> what? >> if you do want to help this district the first thing you have to do, marty, is win. >> i do want to help the district. i love my home. it is just -- it all happened so fast. >> i think cam brady can be beaten. but i don't believe you believe that. you know what, i'm going to call

your dad and tell him you don't have the rocks for this. >> you put your phone away, mr. wattly. this may be hard for you to believe, but this dog has a ton of fight in him. a ton of fight. when i get a scent, i hunt, brother. i hunt all day long. >> see, you have this guy, sort of effeminate, soft-spoken, and this political consultant turns him into some wild man, some macho man from the right wing. >> yeah, his ego gets the best of him. i think that's what happens sometimes in politics. they get pulled from obscurity and they are like, you want to be vice president? okay, yeah, i can do that. but they're not qualified. >> what would george w. think about this? >> he'd probably -- he'd probably think it's a funny movie. a lot of laughs, yeah. i'm glad i'm done with the circus. it's a real circus out there. forget about it, you know? >> did he ever call you up and say, you got me, george w., the president? because everybody thinks of him as you or you as him.

>> i've heard from various sources, though, that he thought i was pretty funny, yeah. but, no, i never had direct contact. >> but that sort of act of his is almost like an act, like he doesn't really act like that in life? >> i don't think so. >> if he normally behaved like that, because he does in public, trying to be tough. >> tough and my way or the highway. >> i want you to take a look at some new talent. somebody who showed up in the movie four or five times. >> oh, the young hot actor. >> i wonder if this guy has a future. let's take a look. >> breaking news out of north carolina, democratic incumbent cam brady getting a run for his money by newcomer marty huggins. this is likely to hurt him with the christian right, social conservatives, any group that opposes baby punching. remember the politician who punched a baby? he's at it again. he punched ugy, the dog from the academy award winning film "the artist." north carolina's 14th district, one of the last to call it. today, opponent marty huggins

did the craziest stunt to date. >> wow, you know what's scary? >> you're in it way too much. >> i can do that like i believe it. >> i know. that's what's so good about it. >> excellent. >> jay roach, your director who did "game change" and "recount," he's great. he knows his political theater really well. >> he does, he does. and he's also -- he's responsible for the austin powers movies and "meet the parents." he's kind of unique where he knows how to do the big broad comedies but he's well-versed in politics. a perfect combination. >> let me ask you a serious question. i watched the movie with my two boys. they're in their 20s, one just turned 30, and i'm thinking, is this helping young people vote? yes, will ferrell. >> what did they say? >> i'm going to encourage it. although one of my kids is to the left of obama, which i have to work on a little bit. he's mad about gitmo and things like that. a lot of people are. are you worried when you see a

movie that is slapstick and shows the evils of the koch brothers and money in the campaigns, does it worry you saying to the kids, why bother with that, i'm not going to vote. >> i think we're both optimistic, first of all, to get people in the door, it's just funny, you know. >> yeah. >> it's just funny characters, and we're kind of going at each other. and then, underneath that, there's that message of, you know, we need to keep an eye on this. otherwise this system is not going to work for us anymore. >> by the way, i have to say as a political expert -- well, i am not an expert. well, i am. it's real. the way you guys portray it will pass any test of accuracy. and it's frightening how real it is. two rich guys can walk around and just deign results with their huge money. >> yeah. >> to your point earlier, we were discussing that. if a couple of 17-year-olds see the movie and they're not really politically aware and they discuss it after the movie, all the money in citizens united, that's a good discussion for

teenagers to start having, i think. >> a great thing. i think people ought to see the movie. great movie for the summer, a lot of fun and a lot of truth in it. "the campaign" in theaters next friday, august 10th, around the country. lots of theaters, especially one near you. thank you, will ferrell, zach galifianakis. >> thanks. >> we'll be right back. >> well, as a christian, i guess it would be easy for you to recite the lord's prayer. >> is that what we're resorting to, ga stop poe tactics? >> i would like to hear it. would you like to hear him recite the lord's prayer? >> fine. i'm happy to. our father, art who is up in heaven, aloe vera be thy name. the thigh, thy kingdom, the magic kingdom as it is on earth in a helicopter.

let me finish tonight with this. i just saw the movie "the campaign." the producers gave me a dvd to watch at home for tonight's show. and this is a very funny movie. if you love these guys, will

ferrell and zach galifianakis -- and most people do -- it's impossible not to see the craziness in the story of a democrat running against a challenger who comes out of nowhere to try to beat him. beat him with the huge money of a couple brothers who bear a striking resemblance to the koch brothers. but beneath the jokes and slapstick, there's a hard reality. this is what politics is on the verge of becoming. a couple guys who made money in gas and oil who use the statistics and intel to go and pick off a person who doesn't vote their interests, putting in someone who will, right down the line. now, that isn't funny. the communists used to attack our democracy as nothing more than a show put on and paid for by the rockefellers. it was a sham, they said, to believe that the american people freely choose their leaders. it's difficult to even see in a comedy that old charge is becoming true. we have seen elections here and there exactly what the communists used to say about us, that we're kidding ourselves, that elections were run by people with big money for people with big money. i don't like the citizens united decision. do